Weightlifting in 2008

Weightlifting , The Games of the XXIX Olympiad, held in August 2008 in Beijing, displayed on the competition platform 255 weightlifters representing 84 countries. Athletes from 18 countries won the 45 medals that were awarded in the eight men’s and seven women’s body-weight categories. A total of 10 senior world records and 19 other Olympic records were broken.

In the women’s division, China won four gold medals, followed in the rankings by South Korea (one gold and one silver), North Korea (one gold and one bronze), Thailand (one gold), Kazakhstan and Russia (two silver and one bronze each), and four other countries. Three-time world champion Jang Mi Ran of South Korea was the gold medalist in the superheavyweight category, with a 326-kg (718.7-lb) overall total, a new world record.

China also led the men’s team rankings, with four gold and one silver, followed by Belarus (one gold and one silver). South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Germany earned one gold medal each. Russia took four medals, none of them gold, and seven other countries divided the remaining men’s medals. Matthias Steiner from Germany won the superheavyweight category with an overall total of 461 kg (1,016.3 lb).